Stampede Wrestling
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| Stampede Wrestling | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Acronym | Stampede |
| Established | 1948 |
| Location | Calgary, Alberta |
| Founder(s) | Stu Hart |
| Owner(s) | Stu Hart (1948-1984) Vince McMahon (1984-1985) Bruce Hart (1985-1989) Bruce and Ross Hart (1999-2005) Bill Bell and Devon Nicholson (2005-current) |
| Parent | National Wrestling Alliance (until 1982) World Wrestling Federation (1984-1985) |
| Formerly | Klondike Wrestling |
| Website | StampedeWrestling.com |
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the promotion competed with other promotions such as NWA All-Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling and regularly ran events in Calgary's Victoria Pavilion and the Stampede Corral between 1948 and 1984. Bought out by promoter Vince McMahon, the company was briefly run by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before being sold back to the Hart family the following year. Run by Bruce Hart until January 1990, he and Ross Hart reopened the promotion in 1999 and began running events in the Alberta area.
Along with its wrestling school known as The Dungeon, many of the promotion's former alumni becoming some of the most popular stars in the World Wrestling Federation and other American promotions during the 1980s and '90s, the promotion produced one of the earliest televised professional wrestling programs (today considered the forerunner of today's WWE) that remained one of Calgary's most popular sports programs eventually airing in over 50 countries worldwide.[1]
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[edit] History
Stampede Wrestling was operated by Stu Hart between 1948 and 1984. Stampede, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until about 1982, was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, who took most of the top talents away from the promotion and developed into the major professional wrestling promotion it is today. In 1985, the WWF sold Stampede back to the Hart family, who continued to run it until it was shut down in December 1989. The promotion was re-opened on April 2, 1999 by Bruce and Ross Hart. Stampede's weekly shows were held mostly at the Victoria Pavilion in Calgary, with special events held at the Stampede Corral.
During the regional territory days of wrestling in the 1970s and '80s, Stampede Wrestling was one of the top promotions in Canada and USA. Some of its top stars included the likes of Dynamite Kid, British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman and Bret Hart. All eight wrestlers became part of the WWF after the dismantling of regional territories. Six of these wrestlers were part of the Hart Foundation in the WWF.
Stampede Wrestling was the basis for a long-running weekly sports broadcast produced in Calgary showcasing many of the promotion's most popular wrestlers. Hosted by Ed Whalen for most of its run, which went from 1957 to 1989, the series was syndicated around the world and reruns continue to be shown in some countries to this day. At the time Stampede was revived in 1999, a second Stampede Wrestling TV series was attempted, but it was short-lived and Whalen was not involved.
In early 1999, Bruce and Ross Hart reopened Stampede Wrestling after an eight-year hiatus showcasing graduates from the Hart Dungeon training school. However, only weeks after their first event, the promotion once again became inactive following the death of Owen Hart in May. Although considering closing the promotion, the Hart family continued to promote events five months later and began touring western Canada. Although successful, the Harts were forced to cancel several tours in late 2001 and early 2002 due to the arrival of a rival promotion backed by a Calgary businessman. The promotion also lost much of its roster due to its rival hiring away top stars.[2]
In 2005, promoters Bill Bell and Devon Nicholson took over day-to-day operations for Stampede Wrestling. During an event at the Spray Lakes Sawmill Sportsplex in Cochrane, Alberta, Nicholson would face Abdullah the Butcher after the scheduled main event between Lance Storm and Rhyno was canceled when Rhyno failed to appear. At that same event, longtime tag team partners TJ Wilson and Harry Smith faced each other in Smith's final match for the promotion before leaving for World Wrestling Entertainment.[3]
Earlier in 2007, Stampede Wrestling lost the use of the Ogden Legion which was their home base for the past number of years. However, Stampede Wrestling has recently announced on their official website that the promotion will begin to run at the Bowness Sportsplex with the first show being September 7, 2007.
WWE currently controls Stampede's extensive tape library, except for Stampede footage of Bret Hart, to which Hart retains the rights, and Owen Hart's Stampede footage, which is owned by Owen's widow Martha Hart.
[edit] The Dungeon
Stampede Wrestling was famous for "The Dungeon," a professional wrestling school located in the basement of the Calgary mansion Hart House, home of the Hart family. The school trained a number of WCW, ECW, and WWE stars, including the Hart Brothers, Mark Henry, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho.
[edit] Championships
[edit] Current championships
| Championship: | Last Champion(s): | Active From: | Active Till: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship | Ravenous Randy | February 28, 1968 | N/A | The North American title was revived in 1998 when Stampede started promoting again[4] [5] |
| Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship | Gama Singh Jr | July, 1978 | N/A | The British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight title was revived in 1999 when Stampede started promoting again [4] [6] |
| Stampede International Tag Team Championship | The Funky Bunch | 1958 | N/A | The International Tag Team title was revived in 2000 when Stampede started promoting again [4] [7] |
| Stampede Women's Pacific Championship | Belle Lovitz | June 15, 2005 | N/A | The Women’s Pacific Title is the only title that was not used in the original version of Stampede Wrestling [8] |
[edit] Retired and defunct championships
| Championship: | Last Champion(s): | Active From: | Active Till: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) | Dave Ruhl | November 1, 1946 | 1972 | [4] [9] |
| NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) | Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon | 1954 | 1959 | Tag Team title replaced by the NWA International Tag-Team Championship (Calgary version) later known as the “Stampede International Tag Team Championship”[4] [10] |
| Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship | Dynamite Kid | September 16, 1972 | 1984 | [4] [11] |
| Stampede Pacific Heavyweight Championship | Michael Modest | June, 1958 | June 27, 2001 | [4] [12] |
| IWA World Women's Championship | Kyoko Inoue | December, 1987 | 1997 | In 1989 the title began being promoted by All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling[4] [13] |
[edit] Roster
[edit] Current (1999-2005)
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[edit] Alumni (1948-1990)
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[edit] Tag teams
- Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon
- Ed & Jerry Morrow
[edit] Hall of Fame
The Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame list professional wrestlers and others who have competed in Stampede Wrestling, from Stu Hart's Klondike Wrestling to the original Stampede Wrestling promotion which closed in 1990.[14]
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[edit] References
- ^ Stampede Wrestling gets pinned. CBC Television News (1990-01-10).
- ^ Can't Stop the Stampede. Wrestling Digest (August 2001).
- ^ Clevett, Jason (2006-05-14). Stampede Wrestling - Past, present and future collide. SLAM! Sports.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2006). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ North American Heavyweight Title (Calgary Stampede). Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ British Commonwelth Mid-Heavyweight Title (Calgary Stampede). Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ Stampede International Tag Team Title. Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ Stampede Women's Pacific Title. Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ N.W.A. Canadian Heavyweight Title (Calgary). Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ N.W.A. Canadian Tag Team Title (Calgary). Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Title. Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ Stampede Pacific Heavyweight Title. Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ I.W.A. Women's World Title. Puroresu Dojo (2003).
- ^ Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990). Puroresu Dojo (2003).
[edit] Further reading
- McCoy, Heath. Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. Toronto: CanWest Books, 2005. ISBN 0-9736719-8-X
[edit] External links
- The Fight Network: Stampede Wrestling Through the Years by Richard Berger
- KayfabeMemories.com - Regional Territories: Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede stars remember Tiger Khan- slam.canoe.ca
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